What Paddy Shot At

HI,
Yesterday, the feast of St.Sabas, wasn’t much better than Sunday. But look him up because he is my new patron saint. He desired to be a hermit – no, I really like silence and reading! He never really got a chance to because the church kept calling on him to do things. I understand that struggle and conflict. Although I am not a saint about it.

I got up around 8:00 and came to the office to try to straighten up. It is a mess! And at 10:15, Dave came and picked me up to drive me to Lisner House for the 10:30am Mass. Our congregation was only 5 but we had a good time. The Mass was a mixture of the old and new as I didn’t have a new missal. They didn’t seem to mind as none of them said, “And with your Spirit”. The staff was beginning to decorate for Christmas and there was Christmas music throughout the home. It was very festive.
Then I had lunch with the pastor and took a nap.

Wouldn’t you know that the St. Nicholas party for the seniors and the pre-K that I was planning to attend and give out chocolate coins was yesterday not on the 6th – and I slept through it!!
They did knock on my door but when I nap I am out!!

Then I had supper and came over to meet with a person from RCIA, who is not sure that she should continue. We talked for an hour and a half and I’m not sure either. Then I went up to the chapel and heard confessions for our Moms group’s Advent Evening of Recollection. We finished about 8:40pm and then I got on the beltway and headed over to Collin’s funeral home. Charlie Smith, a wonderful man who with his wife, Margaret, had 8 kids and was in my first Teams of Our Lady at St. Camillus. I got there in time to see his family and expressed my great love and affection for him and their wonderful family. There are now 25 grandchildren and everyone was there. The funeral will be on Tuesday at Camillus but is at 10:00am and I can’t get there.

Then I came home and read for awhile and went to bed. Thus ended Monday.- December 5th.

I was mistaken! I had the 10:30am Mass today not the 12:30. Fortunately, I did set the alarm because I wanted to see the Sunday Talk Shows and I woke up at 7:30am. I decided to come over to the office since I had slept so well and was anticipating an easy day. WELL!!!
At the 10:30 Mass, we had the Welcoming of the RCIA, the choir, my longer than usual homily, two collections, a talk by a Little Sister of the Poor, a full church with lots of communicants, and my stumbling through the new translation. The Mass did not end until 11:45. I didn’t get back to the office till 12:15. I was expecting to be on the road by 11:35 as I was joining my TEAM (Teams of Our Lady) group for a lunch meeting in Leonardtown at 1pm. I stopped at the CVS to pick up two prescriptions that they didn’t have when I stopped there yesterday. I stood in line for 20 minutes and they could only find one. Then I hit the road and ran into traffic near the beltway as people were going to the Football game. I got off and headed by back roads and found myself in Bowie at 1:15. I tried to call the TEAM but only had home phone numbers on my cell. God love her, Jane Connolly called me as they were looking for me. I told them that I wouldn’t come because I was still an hour and half away. Then I called Maggie because I was suppose to stop there on the way home. She had gone to the parade in Prince Frederick, so I left a message.
I decided to go to get a book that I am suppose to reflect on with students at St. John’s High school next week. I drove to a book store in Bowie and of course, it had been a Border’s and now they are out of business. My OnStar helped me find a Barnes and Noble, so I did get the book, “Night” by Eli Weisel. Then I went and found a CVS and bought a pill splitter that I’ve needed for about three weeks. And I went to a Staples’ and bought a tape dispenser because two weeks ago, I through away the little piece that you put the tapes onto on the dispenser and you can’t just buy them! None of these stores were near each other and so I kept calling OnStar and they helped me to find the stores.
Then I headed home but the traffic was terrible everywhere. Big delay on the Baltimore/Washington parkway so I got off and took another back roqad. At one point I found myself by the Franciscan monastary and I decided I should go to confession because I have really been impatient today. I parked and went inside. The Confessional chapel has been moved; it is now a perpetual adoration chapel. I sat for awhile. There was a choral concert in the main church, so I sat there for awhile. Then I saw a sign and it said there were no confessions on Sundays. Maybe I really didn’t need to go???!!!

I headed home. It is 5:30pm now and in a few moments I am going back to the rectory. I really don’t do well when my plans fall apart and traffic is bad. I’ll just say a good act of contrition and go to bed. I can sleep in tomorrow as I have the nursing home Mass at 10:30am. Good night

Taking the advice of Eileen Lee; I am typing this up on Word and when I finish, I will transfer it over to Paddy. I know this will be long, so I don’t want to lose it like I have before.

I just finished presiding at the 5:30pm Mass. I think I actually didn’t make any mistakes – which hasn’t been true this last week. The Little Sisters of the Poor are here this weekend. They are such a special group of women who do such tremendous work with the elderly. They had two of their six postulants with them. I am so happy to know that young women are still hearing the call to religious life.
Earlier today I got an email from a lady in Virginia who wanted to know what I thought about the refusal of many pastors in Arlington diocese to allow girls to serve at the altar. There was a demonstration today in front of the Bishop’s residence. He allows girl servers in the diocese; but he also allows pastors to decide in their parishes. It seems a new pastor was named and he decided not to follow the previous pastor’s policy and has not allow any new girl altar servers (those already serving are “grand-mothered” but they wear different robes than the boys). Heavenly Father, forgive us!!!!

Anyway my Mass was lovely and I told them in my homily about the time I went to Israel and the tour guide took us out to Jericho in a hot bus, through the desert and up and down hills and valleys. We spent the day at the Dead Sea and Masada and then had a wonderful dinner at Jericho. Then we got back on the bus and I was dreading the trip back. It was pitch black outside but suddenly we were back in Jerusalem. The guide told us that we went out by the old road from the time of Isaiah (and Jesus) but that we returned by the new highway that was built a year or so before. He said, “You will never hear the Advent reading again that you don’t remember this ride!” He was so right. The mountains were chopped off and the valleys filled in for the Highway of the Lord.

Today was a very busy day. At 8:15am, I drove over to St. Anselm’s Abbey to do a “teaching Mass” for the RCIA retreat. I enjoyed it but I had come over to the office at 6:30 to cut and paste the new Mass so that I didn’t have to try to find things in the new Missal. I hadn’t had much luck at Masses this week. It is the feast of St. Francis Xavier, the patron of the Xaverian brothers, who ran Good Counsel and I always think of them and pray for them on their feast day. It is also the birthday of Betty Neary, whom I remembered at Mass and tried to call on the phone but missed her.

I then had the 11:00am Funeral Mass for McCauley Howard, a parishioners who lived at Knollwood, the military retirement complex where we sometimes have Mass. He also came to daily Mass here and I had anointed him last week. It was a very large funeral with five priests and great pictures of him and his family. He was retired Navy and we closed with the Navy Hymn.Fr. Jim came back and he and I had a nice visit in my office and caught up.

Then I took a little nap before the evening Mass

That covers today

Now this is why I didn’t get a chance to write Thursday or Friday.

On Thursday, I had the 8:00am Mass, which I offered for Gail’s daughter, Linda on the anniversary of her death. Gail was ill – and actually at the emergency room – so she couldn’t come.

I also met with Beth, another RCIA person who can’t make the Monday night meetings. Then I concelebrated the 11:00am, which was for Katherine Mulally O’Boyle. She and her husband, Jim, whose anniversary was just last week, use to have we priests down for breakfast on Christmas morning and both families are great parishioners. I taught one of her grandsons. After, I headed to Maggie’s. Then, she, JoAnn, Gail (one of JoAnn’s clients) and I drove to St. Michael’s to attend the annual Senior Citizens’ Christmas dinner. It was, of course, great food but I just loved seeing and hugging so many great friends, whom I miss daily. We laughed and talked and were entertained by the choir, a home schoolers’ Nativity and Elvis (Msgr. Karl Chimiak). Then I tried to stop at a wake in Leonardtown but I was too late. Got home around 11pm and went right to bed.

On Friday, I had the 8:00am Mass and the 11:00am Mass and then I headed over to Millersville and picked up Pat Watters. She has gotten good news and is heading back to Newfoundland on Monday; so we decided to have a mini movie marathon. When I was at St. Bernard’s and she was working as a social worker, we would take a day off and go and see 4 to 6 movies with lunch and dinner breaks. We loved it!!! This time we only took two movies but still had a lunch and supper break. We saw “The Descendants”, which is about Hawaii and was beautiful! And we saw “Tower Heist”, which was clever and fun, fun, fun. I got home around 9 and was ready for bed!!

So now, you’re up to date and since I have the 12:30pm Mass tomorrow, I am not setting the alarm.